- Annual Fundraiser — Update and Name Change
THANK YOU to supporter JS and subscribing contributors T and SH! Their donations over the weekend, totaling $105, bring our annual fundraiser total (as of 5am on Monday, October 5) to $115!
Our goal is $5,503 — with supporter GL’s “matching funds” pledge, we only have to raise $2,751.50 from our other 5,000 or so readers … which seems like an easy ask, but always seems to take a while.
Remember, once we’ve reached our goal, I stop talking about money ENTIRELY for the rest of the year and MOSTLY for the first nine months of NEXT year. So please, support the freedom movement’s daily newspaper at:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
About that name change:
I’ve always called this event our “year-end fundraiser,” because it takes place in the fourth quarter of the year. But “annual fundraiser” seems more appropriate. This is the ONLY time each year when we set a fundraising goal and I start bugging you to help us reach it. That seems worth emphasizing.
We’re $2,636.50 short at the moment. You can change that. Please do.
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Have a great day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Brazil: Presidential election goes to run-off as Bolsonaro wins first round
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The right-wing Flávio Bolsonaro has won the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, beating the incumbent left-wing President Lula da Silva. But he did not obtain more than 50% of the votes required to win outright. There will be a run-off vote between these two candidates on 25 October. Flávio Bolsonaro is the son of the former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed coup attempt after losing the last election. … With 98.81% of the votes counted, Bolsonaro had 47.24% to Lula’s 44.91% of the vote.” (10/05/26)
- More Tankers Hit as Iranian Regime Restates Hormuz Terms
Source: Yahoo! News
“At least two tankers were struck in waters near Oman and Iran over the weekend as Tehran warned it would not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions for ending the war with the United States are met. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British maritime security service, said a crude oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile Saturday about four nautical miles east of Oman. Another tanker was struck Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz, suffering damage to its engine room, according to UKMTO.” (10/04/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/more-tankers-hit-iran-restates-222841428.html
- Pentagon pulls B-1 bombers from UK base following alleged terror threat
Source: The Hill
“The Pentagon pulled all 12 B-1 bombers this weekend from the U.K.’s RAF Fairford air base to their home stations in the U.S. weeks after an alleged terror threat against a U.S.-operated post in England. … The withdrawal comes after British authorities arrested six men linked to a suspected attack on the air base that officials said was foiled. The U.K. police have released the suspects on bail, but the investigation into the incident has continued.” (10/04/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/international/6128663-us-bombers-withdraw-uk-base/
- Spain: Sanchez calls November election amid growing housing protests
Source: CNN
“Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election after facing mounting pressure from mass protests over the country’s housing crisis. Sánchez called the early election for November 29 during a televised speech to the nation from the Palace of Moncloa, his official residence in Madrid. … The announcement comes less than 72 hours after Sánchez’s government failed to secure parliamentary backing for two housing-related royal decree laws aimed at easing mounting public pressure over Spain’s housing crisis. … For days hundreds of people have camped out in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol to protest the housing crisis gripping the country.” (10/05/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/05/europe/spain-leader-calls-snap-election-intl-hnk
- Russia: Dozens abducted at Moscow Communist Party rally amid anger over Ukraine drone strikes
Source: AOL
“Police in Moscow have detained around 60 people at a rally held by Russia’s Kremlin-friendly Communist Party, according to the organisation. A party statement said the arrests took place as the event was ending on Sunday, with its Moscow branch trying to secure the release of detainees, who were mostly young people. The gathering marked the anniversary of the Kremlin’s 1993 crushing of a parliamentary uprising. Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti said protesters chanted slogans including ‘Freedom for political prisoners,’ ‘For fair elections,’ and ‘Down with the Tsar.’ The rally came as public frustration has been simmering in Russia during the intensifying Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside the country.” (10/04/26)
https://www.aol.com/articles/dozens-arrested-moscow-communist-party-195315000.html
- UK: Regime drops plans to cut jury trials in England and Wales after outcry
Source: The Guardian
“Ministers have scrapped plans that would have slashed the number of jury trials in England and Wales and replaced them with a judge sitting alone. The proposals had sparked a fierce backlash from lawyers, who have welcomed the U-turn. But the victims’ commissioner expressed concern about the abandonment of measures drawn up by the then justice secretary, David Lammy, under Keir Starmer’s government, to tackle the record backlog in the courts. … Legislation would have removed jury trials for defendants who were likely to receive a sentence of up to three years. Ministers have not abandoned judge-only trials altogether, but they will only be for a small number of especially lengthy and technical fraud cases where the judge decides a jury trial is not appropriate.” (10/04/26)
- CA: Sanders rallies in San Francisco for attempt to destroy state’s economy
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
“Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders took center stage in downtown San Francisco on Saturday, his latest appearance in the Golden State as he lends his star power to the effort to pass Proposition 40, a proposed one-time tax on billionaires. Sanders, an independent [sic], is arguably the measure’s most fervent supporter and its most high-profile endorser. San Franciscans and health care workers filed into the 1,650-seat Curran Theatre on Saturday evening decked out in old ‘Feel the Bern’ merchandise and signs with the message ‘SAVE LIVES, TAX BILLIONAIRES.’ Most of California’s biggest names in Democratic politics oppose the measure. Sanders was also on hand when Prop 40 supporters kicked off their campaign in Los Angeles in February.” (10/03/26)
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/bernie-sanders-prop-40-billionaire-tax-22458467.php
- Australia: Man charged after vehicle allegedly hits rugby league fans
Source: New York Times
“An 18-year-old man has been charged by New South Wales Police after a vehicle allegedly struck 10 people during a parade of rugby league side Newcastle Knights fans. A five-year-old girl is in a critical but now stable condition, while a 67-year-old man’s condition was considered critical but is currently reported to be serious but stable. A two-year old girl and a second five-year-old girl, whose conditions are described by police as stable, were among eight others hit. … NSW Police said that the driver had been released from hospital and charged with nine offences, including three counts of dangerous driving, three counts of negligent driving and three counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct, in charge of motor vehicle.” (10/03/26)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7655514/2026/10/03/newcastle-knights-australia-fans-parade-car/
- Maduro Not Immune to Prosecution in Narco-Terror Case, US Regime Says
Source: mint [India]
“Nicolás Maduro is not entitled to immunity from criminal charges, US prosecutors said, countering the former Venezuelan president’s bid to toss the US’s narco-terrorism case against him. Maduro and Cilia Flores — Maduro’s wife who also faces charges — are ‘former rogue officials of a formerly rogue state with no entitlement to immunity,’ the US argued in a filing in Manhattan federal court late Friday. His defense team argued last month that he is immune to prosecution in the US as the head of a sovereign country.” [editor’s note: The better argument is that the Constitution limits criminal prosecutions to “the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,” and Venezuela is neither a state nor a district of the United States – TLK] (10/04/26)
- UK: Iranian men scouted synagogue for chlorine bomb plot, prosecutor says
Source: ABC News
“Two Iranian men conducted surveillance of a Manchester synagogue that was the site of a deadly attack a year ago as part of a plot to bomb it this year, a prosecutor said Saturday. Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, researched attacking the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue in Manchester in northwest England and the Jewish Museum in nearby Cheetham Hill, the court was told. Ahmadyan and Salehi were arrested last month and charged Friday with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts. … Prosecutor Mark Luckett said the duo were directed by a third person believed to be in Iran who coordinated plans and provided instructions on making a homemade chlorine bomb.” (10/03/26)
- Medical plane with six on board missing off Massachusetts coast
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“US authorities are searching for six people after a medical plane bound for Boston, Massachusetts, went missing early Saturday morning. The Federal Aviation Administration told the BBC that it lost contact with the Gulfstream G-100 plane and put out a search-and-rescue notice just after 1:00 local time (6:00 GMT). An air and water search is underway off the coast of Nantucket, a Massachusetts island, according to the US Coast Guard’s Northeast District. The plane departed from Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport at 23:40 local time, according to flight data from FlightAware, and was slated to land at Boston’s Logan International at 1:30 EDT (6:30 GMT). According to the tail number released by the Coast Guard, the plane belonged to Latitude Air Ambulances, a company that provides international medical flights for patients returning home.” (10/03/26)
- TN: Outgoing prison chief oversaw five “botched” prisoner killings, lawyers say
Source: The Guardian
“Tennessee’s prison chief is resigning after the failed [killing] of Christa Pike, which lawyers say was the fifth ‘botched’ [prisoner killing] under his leadership across two states since 2022. Frank Strada, the commissioner of the Tennessee department of correction, has faced mounting questions about the state’s highly secretive death penalty protocols since Wednesday evening when Pike became the first death row prisoner in the US to to be injected with lethal drugs and survive. … Death penalty lawyers said there were common threads in the five problematic [prisoner killings] under Strada, including the prisoners’ protracted suffering and questionable injection procedures, and argued that Lee should never have appointed Strada given his Arizona record.” (10/03/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/03/christa-pike-frank-strada-botched-executions
- Noah’s Ark researchers “inching toward” confirmation after drilling challenges natural-rock theory
Source: Fox News
“A team investigating a boat-shaped formation in eastern Turkey says new evidence is strengthening its case that the site could hold the remains of Noah’s Ark. ‘In archaeology, you deal with probabilities, and we’re inching towards where we believe we will have confirmation this winter after our soil analysis is done with Sivas University, who’s our partner in this,’ Noah’s Ark Scans founder Andrew Jones told ‘Saturday in America’. The focus of the investigation is the Durupınar formation, an approximately 538-foot-long geological structure near Mount Ararat. Its shape and proximity to the region identified in the biblical account have fascinated Ark hunters for decades. The boat-shaped formation was first discovered in 1959 and has long-drawn speculation over a possible connection to Noah’s Ark.” (10/03/26)
- Ethiopia: Regime Forces Seize Capital of Tigray Region From Rebels
Source: US News & World Report
“Ethiopian government forces and allied militias have regained control of the capital of Tigray, three sources told Reuters on Sunday, dealing a major setback to the opposition alliance that rules the northern region. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which leads the opposition alliance, said in a statement posted on Facebook it had retreated from the capital and that the regional government would be ‘temporarily moved out of Mekelle and operate from somewhere else.’ A source close to the pro-government militia, the Tigray Peace Forces, said its fighters entered the centre of Mekelle on Saturday afternoon, followed by the Ethiopian military. A humanitarian source and a Mekelle resident, who asked not to be named, confirmed the city was controlled by government forces. The prime minister’s office did not respond immediately to a request for comment.” (10/04/26)
- MS: Father and son smoke shop workers arrested in students’ suspected kratom deaths
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A father and son who worked at a Mississippi smoke shop have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of at least one university student who died from a suspected overdose of kratom, sometimes called ‘gas station heroin’ in the US. The pair worked at a shop that allegedly sold derivatives of the substance to University of Mississippi students. US prosecutors charged Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, for possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances in connection with the death investigation of two Ole Miss students last month. Although their deaths have not officially been attributed to kratom, officials afterward issued warnings about consuming kratom.” (10/03/26)
- Federal Judge Rules Warrantless Flock Search Violated Fourth Amendment
Source: Dallas Express
“A federal judge ruled that a deputy violated the Fourth Amendment by searching a driver’s historical vehicle-location records without a warrant through license plate reader systems, including Flock Safety. U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill of the Northern District of Oklahoma issued the 38-page ruling Thursday in United States v. Melisa Susan Kyle. She ordered prosecutors to exclude all evidence officers obtained after the deputy initiated the search. Federal prosecutors charged Kyle with possessing more than 500 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Hill’s October 1 order addressed how officers obtained evidence, not whether Kyle committed the alleged offense.” (10/03/26)
- “Monty Python” legend John Cleese doubles down after incenidiary posts about Islam spark UK complaint
Source: New York Post
“‘Monty Python’ legend John Cleese is doubling down on his months-long string of incendiary posts about Islam after activists filed a complaint that asked Britain’s counter-radicalization program to scrutinize him over the missives. ‘How exciting,’ the 86-year-old comedian wrote after learning that a member of the public had referred him to Prevent, a British government program designed to intervene when authorities believe someone may be vulnerable to radicalization or becoming involved in terrorism. The September 22 referral, first reported by Muslim-focused British news outlet 5Pillars, accused Cleese of ‘a sustained pattern’ of online activity that ‘demonizes, dehumanizes, and collectively attributes violence and criminality to Muslims and Islam’.” (10/03/26)
- Latvia: PM on track to lead pro-Ukraine coalition after parliamentary election victory
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs was set to retain power and form a coalition after his centrist United List won parliamentary elections on Sunday, the biggest in the country’s post-independence history. While the result is expected to reinforce the Baltic country’s pro-European and pro-Ukrainian stance, populist parties also made significant gains. … Populist parties, boosted by support from Latvia’s Russian-speaking minority, also had a good night after an election campaign dominated by fears over neighbouring Russia, the cost of living and other social issues.” (10/03/26)
- Trump announces $90 bribes for seniors on Medicare for premium costs
Source: SFGate
“President Donald Trump is promising more payments to voters just ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections — this time, to more than 20 million seniors, giving them $90 each to help pay for Medicare premiums. The announcement, made late Friday night by Trump on social media, comes after the president last month said about 1 million people would get rebate checks of $500 for Affordable Care Act premiums. He has also promised on the campaign trail to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. That pledge (which would require approval from Congress) would likely cost more than $1 trillion, adding to the deficit and worsening inflation. Trump highlighted his $5,000 promise at a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday night, and told supporters that 70,000 families in the state would receive the ACA rebates ‘within the next couple of days’.” (10/03/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/trump-announces-90-payments-for-seniors-on-22461222.php
- Want To Stop the Iran War? Don’t Pay the Bill
Source: Reason
by Gene Healy“With the power of the purse, Congress can pressure the president to stand down in Iran by doing what it usually does best: nothing. … To date, we’ve spent over $40 billion on the president’s Iran adventure, yet Congress has never passed specific appropriations for any of it. The administration has been paying the bills by tapping into Pentagon funds authorized for other purposes, such as military training and readiness. … Facing ‘an urgent budget shortfall,’ the Trump administration requested Epic Fury funds in June. In July, the House passed a budget resolution incorporating the ask. The supplemental request now sits with the Senate …. doing nothing—simply refusing to pass the supplemental—would be a good start.” (10/02/26)
https://reason.com/2026/10/02/want-to-stop-the-iran-war-dont-pay-the-bill/
- How the Shahed Drone Became the New AK-47
Source: exile in happy valley
by Nicky Reid“In the 21rst century, the modern world has become a Frankenstein empire with a thousand terrible new machines produced per minute as resources dwindle and the emotional wellbeing of entire generations crashes with the bombs. We call this progress, but what it really amounts to is slavery in exchange for convenience. The problem isn’t even really the devices themselves, but rather the fact that human beings seem to take less and less moral inventory with every new device produced. … The end result is a brave new world where life is cheap and oppression is downright affordable. … The only bright side to this strangely convenient dystopia is that with the mass production of quite literally everything, resistance becomes as cheap as oppression.” (10/04/26)
https://exileinhappyvalley.blogspot.com/2026/10/how-shahed-drone-became-new-ak-47.html
- It was never just going to be about keeping kids off social media
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin“‘We shouldn’t accept that this is the end,’ Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said this week of the UK’s looming under-16 social media ban. ‘This is a staging post to what must be a very active interventionist state, policing and regulating the online space so that people are safe.’ Next March, the initial rollout will begin to keep teens under 16 from using ‘high-risk’ social media apps, and further algorithmic restrictions will later hit those under 18. After that, more restrictions will apparently follow. What new ‘policing and regulating’ powers will officials seek?” (10/02/26)
- The Tyranny of One Man’s Opinion
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano“Thomas Cromwell was the Lord Chancellor of England for much of the reign of King Henry VIII. He engineered the convictions and executions of many whom Henry wanted out of the way, including his two predecessors in office — one of whom was St. Thomas More — and even the king’s second wife, Queen Anne. When Cromwell’s son Gregory, who became sickened as he watched his father devolving from counselor to monster, learned that an executioner for the queen had been sent for from France a week before her trial, he asked his father what the purpose of her trial was if the king had preordained the queen’s guilt and prepaid the executioner. Cromwell replied that the king needed a jury to give the appearance of legitimacy to her conviction and prevent the public perception of ‘the tyranny of one man’s opinion.'” (10/02/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/10/01/the-tyranny-of-one-mans-opinion/
- Cornell raises an uncomfortable question about consent
Source: Washington Post
by Megan McArdle“There is no question that something terrible happened at a Cornell University fraternity in 2024. The question is what. Was it a brutal gang rape? Or was it something messier and more complicated, a sexual encounter that was unwise but nonetheless consensual? What facts we have are not enough to distinguish between the two possibilities.” (10/04/26)
- In Latest Protests, “Kayak-tivists” Target Home of Chief Justice Roberts in Maine
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“There are certain dates that have become a regular feature in American life. In February, the Sandhill Cranes return to the Platte River in Tennessee. In March, the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano…and in October, the protesters have returned to Hupper Island, the summer vacation home of Chief Justice Roberts. The last migratory pattern is more recent and certainly less welcomed. In past years, liberal protesters have descended on the homes of conservative justices to disrupt their lives, shout abuses, and, in one case involving Justice Brett Kavanaugh, seek to kill a member of the Court. Protesters outside the home of Justice Amy Coney Barrett left bloody dolls on the lawn, knowing that she had young children inside. This week, the protesters appeared at the vacation home of Chief Justice John Roberts in Maine.” (10/03/26)
- Behavioral Economics and Human Flourishing: A Neo-Aristotelian Perspective
Source: Freedom and Flourishing
by Edward W Younkins‘Behavioral Economics has emerged over the past seven decades as a significant development in economic thought challenging the idealized assumptions of perfect rationality that have long dominated neoclassical economics. Yet, for all its insights into human cognition and decision-making, the field has generated controversy regarding its normative implications. Should behavioral economists address their findings to public policy makers who could nudge citizens toward supposedly better choices? Or should they address their recommendations to individuals, empowering them to make better decisions for themselves?” (10/04/26)
https://www.freedomandflourishing.com/2026/10/behavioral-economics-and-human.html
- Election 2026 Enters the “Spoiler” Whining Hour
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“For more than a century, the Republican and Democratic parties have used ballot access laws and debate exclusion criteria to rig elections, making it as difficult and expensive as possible for ‘third party’ and independent candidates to even appear on ballots. Then when Republicans and Democrats lose, or look like they may lose, the whining begins. ‘Why, the nerve! How dare anyone but us seek political office? Those other guys can’t win — we’ve busted our butts to make sure of that! But here they come, ‘stealing’ our votes and ‘spoiling’ the rightful outcomes! There oughta be a law! Oh, wait, there is … why isn’t it working?'” (10/02/26)
- One of Ukraine’s winning principles
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“A big reason for the rules of war is to prevent a country that’s losing a conflict from unleashing a last-resort wave of attacks on innocent civilians. After its 4 1/2-year war in Ukraine, Russia appears to fit that description, adding one more justification for the 1949 Geneva Conventions – to which Moscow is legally bound. Civilian casualties in Ukraine were up 37% in the first half of 2026 from the same period last year. And, increasingly, the slaughter is in major cities, away from the most contested territory. ‘I … see the nature of this war changing,’ said Alexander De Croo, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, during a visit to the country last month. ‘Civilian infrastructure is being attacked deliberately and relentlessly, day and night,’ he added. ‘Buses. Trains. Bookshops. Supermarkets. The ordinary places where ordinary people live their lives.’ In addition, Russia’s gloves-off tactics appear to come from orders on high.” (10/02/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/1002/One-of-Ukraine-s-winning-principles
- Keep the Case for Free Trade Simple
Source: The Daily Economy
by Caleb S Fuller & Scott Burns“Trade isn’t complicated. People around the world work to produce things for one another — and protectionism makes that cooperation harder.” (10/02/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/keep-the-case-for-free-trade-simple/
- Two Parties Confront Ideological Insurgencies, Part Two
Source: American Greatness
by Thaddeus G McCotter“Like Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), America’s center-left Democrat Party faces a challenge from its extreme flank. Unlike the CDU, which has abandoned its past strategy and adopted one of confrontation, the Democrat Party is sticking with its strategy of co-option (not fusion) with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). But will the Democrat Party’s strategy prove any more successful in staving off its possible extinction than the CDU’s? Presently, the Democrat Party has a ringside seat at the continuing struggle between the GOP establishment and President Trump and his MAGA movement, which constitutes a halting attempt at fusion. This occurs when the party establishment and its insurgents, be they internal or external, join together to defeat a common enemy or promote a common position.” (10/03/26)
- A Catholic Theologian Signs Up for Mass Cruelty
Source: The UnPopulist
by Gabriel Schoenfeld“A lesson from the 20th century is that intellectuals sometimes choose to serve monsters. Hitler, Stalin, and Mao all found thinkers willing to sing their praise even as they murdered millions. On the spectrum of evil and death, Donald Trump, a crass, ignorant would-be authoritarian, is not in their league. And yet already, under Trump’s rule, people have died—and already lives are being ruined by the tens of thousands. As all this happens, crankish right-wing intellectuals have been drawn to Trump’s scepter as moths to a flame. A case in point, not exactly a household name but not entirely unimportant, is Chad Pecknold.” (10/02/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/a-catholic-theologian-signs-up-for
- Meditations On The Botched Execution Of Christa Pike
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“They botched another execution in Tennessee. They stuck the prisoner full of seven different syringes, but she didn’t die. She just experienced extreme suffering, minute after excruciating minute, before eventually losing consciousness. Her name is Christa Pike. As of this writing, she is still alive. Pike committed a horrific violent crime as a young woman after a life of nightmarish abuse. She was physically and sexually abused by her mother’s live-in boyfriend, was raped by a neighbor when she was eleven, and attempted suicide at the age of twelve. And now she is on a respirator in a hospital as doctors fight to save her life, presumably so that the state of Tennessee can try to kill her again. It’s all so absurd. People are so cruel to each other.” (10/03/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/10/03/meditations-on-the-botched-execution-of-christa-pike/
- Should Americans Vote for Tweedle Dum or Tweedle Dee?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“How often were Americans told that if Republicans controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress, they would be able to rein in federal spending and even balance the budget. Well, Republicans now control both houses of Congress and the presidency. They could balance the budget today. Have they done so since they took control after the 2024 elections? Nope. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office projected a $1.9 trillion federal deficit for fiscal year 2026. Same old, same old. American right-wingers and left-wingers like to emphasize their differences, but those differences aren’t fundamental in nature. Their fight is over control of the welfare-warfare state.” (10/02/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/10/02/should-americans-vote-for-tweedle-dum-or-tweedle-dee/
- Trump once championed global religious freedom. Here’s why he stopped.
Source: Washington Post
by Matthew Schmitz“Donald Trump championed international religious freedom in his first term, turning a long-standing bipartisan cause into a foreign-policy priority. His administration gave the Office of International Religious Freedom a higher position within the State Department’s bureaucracy, stressed religious freedom in its 2017 National Security Strategy and appointed officials focused on religious freedom at the National Security Council and United States Agency for International Development. Trump’s second term has been dramatically different. Trump has failed to issue statutorily required annual reports, inflicted DOGE-style cuts on religious freedom advocacy groups and demoted the religious freedom office within the State Department’s hierarchy. … Some religious freedom advocates have called the Trump administration’s new approach ‘a betrayal.’ But the challenges faced by international religious freedom extend far beyond the current White House.” (10/02/26)
- Global Warming, Carbon Taxes, and Public Choice
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman“I believe that global warming is probably real, probably anthropogenic, may well impose net costs. This raises an obvious question: What, if anything, should we do about it? If I were dictator of the world and wished to maximize economic efficiency, the answer would be fairly obvious. Impose a tax on activities that create greenhouse gases designed to reflect the marginal cost they create. That is the standard economic solution, due to Pigou, for problems of negative externalities. Since the tax brings in additional revenue, combine it with a corresponding reduction in whatever taxes currently have the largest adverse effects. I do not, in fact, support carbon taxes. The reason is that I do not believe that, if imposed, they would fit the pattern described above.” (10/02/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/global-warming-carbon-taxes-and-public-e98
- The forgotten 1929 massacre that explains the Middle East today
Source: New York Post
by Yardena Schwartz“Since Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas sympathizers have insisted that we must understand the massacre in its historical context — that it did not happen in a vacuum. This much is true. To understand this context, we need to look back at a chapter of history that predates the state of Israel by two decades. That chapter is 1929. On Aug. 24, 1929, more than 3000 Muslim men armed with swords, axes and machetes marched through the ancient Jewish quarter of Hebron, then part of British Mandate Palestine. That Sabbath morning, they slaughtered 67 Jewish men, women and children, and wounded dozens more. Children watched as their parents were butchered by their neighbors. Rabbis and yeshiva students were castrated. Infants were murdered in their mothers’ arms. Young women were raped. Those who survived endured horrific cruelty, with fingers and limbs severed and eyes gouged.” (10/03/26)
- A Pocketful of Rescissions
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann“President Donald Trump has once again used an unusual method called a pocket rescission to cut U.S. government spending. Coming just days before the end of the federal government’s 2026 fiscal year on September 30, the move will cancel $810 million of the $7.45 trillion of spending authorized by the U.S. Congress. … The canceled spending represents about 0.01% of what Congress authorized for federal spending during the 2026 fiscal year. The amount of the rescission is a bit like finding you have an unexpected penny left over after spending ten thousand dollars. But coming with just five days left in the 2026 fiscal year doesn’t give Congress time to potentially override the President’s cost-cutting action before it expires. That’s left many Washington D.C. politicians angry over the maneuver.” (10/02/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/10/02/pocketful-rescissions/
- Tennessee Poison
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson“There are many bad arguments against capital punishment: that an innocent person might be wrongly convicted … that the willful taking of human life is categorically evil … that a death sentence cannot be reversed … etc. There are better arguments against capital punishment: One is that capital punishment is bad for the executioners (and, this being a republic, we are all executioners), which ought to be obvious to anybody who has been present at one of those festive ‘Burn, baby, burn!’ rallies death-penalty enthusiasts sometimes stage outside of an execution or to anyone who has heard Donald Trump hold forth on the subject. … Another argument against capital punishment is that we are not very good at it.” (10/02/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/tennessee-botched-execution-death-penalty/
- Where Does Russia’s Violent Imperialism Come From?
Source: Foreign Policy
by Ian Garner“Four and a half years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has conquered no more than a slice of Ukrainian territory. In return, half a million Russian soldiers are dead, the economy is running on fumes, Moscow’s relationship with the West is in tatters, and the country’s reliance on China grows ever stronger. Yet there is no sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin seeking peace. his army continues its bombardment of Ukraine. The frontline voraciously consumes more Russian troops than he can recruit. What is it that drives Russia to wage this hugely costly and apparently irrational war? Could it be the individualist greed, lawless capitalism, and corruption for which the Russian elite is infamous? Or is it a collective neo-imperialism expressed in Putin’s obsession with conquest and Russia’s world-historical mission?” (10/02/26)
- Five Reasons Trump Might Actually Resign
Source: Common Dreams
by Ralph Nader“It is hard to read President Donald Trump’s mind—what with his chronic lies, delusions, and fake promises. His incentives to finish his term are numerous—pomp and ceremony, daily vengeance, judicial immunity, Democratic leaders, for now, opposing impeachment (see ‘Open Letter to Representative Hakeem Jeffries’, August 31, 2026), and immensely enriching himself using the punishing or rewarding powers of the presidency. The rewards are insatiable. This failed businessman, riven with debts and losses, revealed in his 2025 financial disclosures a profit of $1.1 MILLION AN HOUR on a 40-hour week! He probably will reap more dollars in 2026, which he has ensured would be non-taxable by his captured Internal Revenue Service (See: ‘DOJ Settlement ‘Forever’ Bars IRS Trump Audits, Sparks Backlash’).” (10/03/26)
- The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026: 4 ways the new permitting package gets transmission policy right
Source: Niskanen Center
by Rachel Levine & Liza Reed“Last October, we posited that Congress could reach a bipartisan deal on permitting reform to address project timelines and get more transmission and clean energy built. With the introduction of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA) of 2026, lawmakers are close to doing just that. Here are four ways the transmission policies in the bill, sponsored by Senators Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, Martin Heinrich, and Sheldon Whitehouse this week, can build the grid we need.” (10/02/26)
- The Myth of the Radical Right
Source: Law & Liberty
by George Hawley“Despite the continuous efforts of right-wing identitarians calling for more racial solidarity, feelings of white identity have not increased among most Republican voters. In fact, we see the opposite. Nor do we see meaningful growth in feelings of white racial grievance. Social media provides a skewed view of American life. The racial anger that seems so pervasive on X (formerly Twitter) is not reflected in these surveys. This means the politicians and media figures chasing accolades from the most bitter voices in the online right are misreading the nation’s political atmosphere.” (10/02/26)
- Two Visions of Peace
Source: Liberalism.org
by Christopher J Coyne“Peacemaking is often understood as a top-down phenomenon: Peace, defined as the absence of large-scale violence, results from state action. … A second view emphasizes peacemaking as a bottom-up process. This perspective recognizes that peace is not a one-size-fits-all policy or outcome, but rather an emergent result of exercising diverse micro-level skills.” (10/02/26)
- Made in “Europe”
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mark Nayler“If the EU Commission didn’t take itself so seriously, you might think that the so-called Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) had been given its name as a self-deprecating joke. Unveiled in March, the initiative aims to boost the bloc’s industrial capacity and decarbonization efforts, in order to compete with China and achieve Brussels’s stringent climate goals; but seven months on, its progress through the EU’s bureaucratic obstacle course is steadily decelerating. Like many EU initiatives before it, the IAA is causing internal division—in this case over the scope of the phrase ‘Made in Europe.’ The question at the center of the dispute is whether protectionist measures will help or harm flagging EU industries.” (10/02/26)
- Trump’s fits of pique explain his lifetime of failure
Source: Los Angeles Times
by LZ Granderson“Ideally, the screams of infancy and the insolence of toddlerhood fade as a person grows and the scalpel of life begins sculpting away. Yes, problems still persist, but part of maturing is understanding that ‘he that is slow to wrath is of great understanding but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.’ As the Bible story goes, King Solomon asked God for wisdom, and that proverb was among the things he told him. Of course it’s not necessary to be a Bible follower to understand the drawbacks of hot-headedness as an adult. … President Trump’s tendency to erupt at journalists and others is more than embarrassing or unprofessional. It’s informative.” (10/02/26)
- Red scare: Solid GOP districts reeling from war, price backlash
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Blaise Malley“On Monday, as the war with Iran crossed the seven-month mark, Governor Greg Abbott declared a statewide disaster in Texas as a result of a massive increase in diesel prices and a deepening fuel shortage. Texas is hardly alone. Diesel prices have climbed nationwide since the war began …. As the midterm elections near and the war’s costs hit voters’ wallets, Abbott’s declaration is a window into a larger problem for Republicans across the country, including some in deep red states. An increasing number of Republicans are being forced to spend money and political capital defending seats that they carried easily in recent elections.” (10/02/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-republicans-midterms/
- Why the media got DOGE and Elon all wrong
Source: Fox News
by Tyler Hassen“My book about my time inside DOGE launched last week, and I’ve watched friends who privately cheer me on go completely silent in public. That’s how toxic the stigma around DOGE has become. And that stigma is built on a version of events I barely recognize. My experience inside DOGE was almost nothing like what I read about in the mainstream news. The fairest and most balanced coverage I can remember was our interview on Fox News with Bret Baier in March 2025 — but let me tell you what it was actually like. As the DOGE lead and acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior, I saw the accusations that we cut everything indiscriminately. That could not be further from the truth.” (10/02/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/saw-real-doge-inside-why-media-got-doge-elon-wrong
- Rand Paul Was Right To Block the Senate’s Attempt To Censor the Internet
Source: Reason
by Reem Ibrahim“The bill’s ‘duty of care’ could pressure platforms to suppress lawful speech in the name of protecting children.” (10/02/26)
- Fly the Cruel and Unusual Skies
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“Sometimes, cruel punishment is the usual, as in states like the People’s Republic of China. Everybody is a victim there. But entire ethnic or religious groups of people are routinely subjected to even more cruel tyranny than most Chinese people must put with. If Americans aren’t yet in this situation — not for lack of trying by various local, state, and federal autocrats — one reason is that instances of cruel and unusual punishment can be fought in court. Which is what Ken Jouppi is doing with the help of the Institute for Justice. What was Jouppi’s alleged crime? He let a passenger bring ‘visible’ containers of beer on board his Cessna 206. … Jouppi was punished 13 years ago, a year after the ‘crime,’ with three days in jail and a $1,500 fine. But that wasn’t good enough for the Alaska government, which tenaciously enforces local alcohol prohibitions — it demanded that Jouppi forfeit his $95,000 airplane.” (10/02/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/10/02/fly-the-cruel-and-unusual-skies/
- The Parthenon of the Republic
Source: Law & Liberty
by Hans Zeiger“Independence Hall is one of the great historic buildings because of what happened inside its walls.” (10/02/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-parthenon-of-the-republic/
- Government Failure Is Still Failure
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Shahid Islam“Introductory economics textbooks devote considerable attention to market failure: monopoly power, externalities, public goods and asymmetric information. However, government failure deserves the same scrutiny. Markets are made up of imperfect human beings and so are governments. Legislators, regulators, and civil servants possess limited knowledge, imperfect foresight and incentives of their own. Evidence of market failure is not evidence that government intervention will improve the outcome. The relevant comparison is between feasible alternatives.” (10/02/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/government-failure-still-failure
- The China factor behind the Iran war
Source: Asia Times
by Altaf Moti“The war between the United States and Iran is no longer just a confrontation between Washington and Tehran. A second contest is taking shape alongside and behind it. China is not fighting the United States directly, but its economic, technological and diplomatic links to Iran are complicating Washington’s strategy and ability to win the conflict.” (10/02/26)
https://asiatimes.com/2026/10/the-china-factor-behind-the-iran-war/
- Spencer Foresaw the “Coming Slavery”
Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman“For laissez-faire liberal Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), political trouble began with ‘the unhesitating belief … that evils of all kinds should be dealt with by the State.’ The fatal first step is a government promise to rescue people from their own bad choices, such as their preference for indolence and other irresponsibility. That was a mistake because, as Spencer wrote elsewhere, ‘The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools.’ Shielding people from their folly is not only bad in itself, but it also sets in motion a perverse political dynamic that, if allowed to persist, would doom freedom itself.” (10/02/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-spencer-foresaw-the-coming-slavery
- The Pentagon Neglected Its Own Voters; Hegseth Is Correcting It
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lucas“The warriors who defend this country must have their votes counted. That requires two things. The first is access. They need the time, the training, and the assistance to register and cast a ballot from wherever the country sends them. The second is protection. Their votes must not be diluted by overseas civilian ballots cast under rules Congress never wrote. The Pentagon has failed on both counts. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is correcting that. Start with access. In 2010 and 2011 I served as an infantry rifle platoon leader in Afghanistan. We operated from a remote combat outpost on the Pakistani border, fighting the Taliban and the Haqqani terror network. Those were the deadliest years of the war. I also ran the Federal Voting Assistance Program for my unit.” (10/03/26)
- Serious Trouble, 10/03/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“National controversy erupts over a rape non-prosecution at Cornell; Jeanine Pirro has various prosecutorial troubles; Sheri Mecklenburg leaves the Chicago US Attorney’s office with a bang.” (10/03/26)
- Free Talk Live, 10/03/26
Source: Free Talk Live
“Gypsy Rose and other cult killings :: Gypsy Rose’s ex fiancé Ken Urker found dead :: ‘If you let criminals vote it’s dangerous because there are a lot of people against Flock cameras’ Real quote by Sarah from NM :: lprmaps.com to check your state for license plate readers :: ICE to be turned around on the republicans by dems? :: The risk of super intelligence :: Executioners in TN literally had one job, says caller. Fewer people should trust the gov :: Government schools exist to make ignorant dependents :: Tom from NH calls to say squatting is okay if you can’t pay rent. Bonnie disagrees :: Houston has no zoning laws :: Michigan child abuse ring coming to light :: The profitable business of removing kids from their parents :: 2026-10-03 :: Hosts: Bonnie, Jay Noone, Chadd.” (10/03/26)
- The Good Fight, 10/03/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Galen Druke on the Midterms.” (10/03/26)
- The Fifth Column, 10/02/26
Source: The Fifth Column
“The Weave Within the Weave.” (10/02/26)
- Freakonomics Radio, 10/02/26
Source: Freakonomics
“Here’s Why Your Hamburger Just Got So Pricey.” (10/02/26)
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/heres-why-your-hamburger-just-got-so-pricey/
- Half the Answer, episode 106
Source: Liberal Currents
“Everything’s ‘National Security’ in Trump’s Washington.” (10/02/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/02/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Why Does America Keep Starving The People It Claims To Be ‘Liberating?'” (10/02/26)
- The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, 10/02/26
Source: The Weekly Dish
“Emily Eakin On What Postmodernism Wrought.” (10/02/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/emily-eakin-on-what-postmodernism
- System Update, 10/02/26
Source: Glenn Greenwald
“Weekly Q&A with Glenn Greenwald.” (10/02/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/weekly-q-and-a-with-glenn-greenwald-2de
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/02/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump’s Weird Tirade on Midterms Accidentally Reveals Key GOP Weakness.” (10/02/26)
- SolutionsWatch, 10/02/26
Source: The Corbett Report
“James talks to Barry Cooper about his remarkable journey from being one of the top narcotics officers in Texas law enforcement to an activist busting crooked cops and helping drug users avoid arrest.” (10/02/26)
- Pod Save America, 10/02/26
Source: Crooked Media
“Beardos, Weirdos, and Donald Trump.” (10/02/26)
https://audioboom.com/posts/8959700-beardos-weirdos-and-donald-trump
- Nonzero, 10/02/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Trump Let’s the AI Labs Police THEMSELVES?!” (10/02/26)
- The Dispatch Podcast, 10/02/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Sen. Schmitt’s Failed Attack on Jack Smith.” (10/02/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/sen-schmitts-failed-attack-on-jack-smith/
- Sal and Mark, episode 22
Source: Free Talk Live
“Sal checks in from lunch in Florida on his way to Prague, where he’s speaking at Dark Prague on agorism and crypto anarchy. … Mark Edge is joined by Jody Underwood of Education Options (EdOpt) to talk school choice in New Hampshire. They cover tuition-free charter schools, Education Freedom Accounts, runaway school spending, and why the families who could benefit most are often the hardest to reach.” (10/02/26)
- Reason Interview: Robert Pondiscio
Source: Reason
“How Nikole Hannah-Jones Gets School Choice All Wrong.” (10/01/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/10/01/how-nikole-hannah-jones-gets-school-choice-all-wrong/
- Politics Politics Politics, 10/01/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Are Data Centers Going to Flip Ohio Blue? Checking in on the Midterms One Month Out (with Kirk Bado).” (10/01/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/are-data-centers-going-to-flip-ohio
- The Anarchist Experience, episode 600
Source: The Anarchist Experience
“Rich and Riley discuss the new twist in the Lindsay Clancy saga, and why do modern women suck.” (10/01/26)
https://theanarchistexperience.wordpress.com/2026/10/02/the-anarchist-experience-600/
- Rising, 10/01/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Florida Rep. Angie Nixon suggesting that her opponent in the state Senate race, Ashley Moody, should be in prison.” (10/01/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/01/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Is Trump About To Invade Cuba?” (10/01/26)